NCAA FootballLet me start by saying that I love football. Pro is great but I prefer the young men with dreams before they're souls are corrupted by money, fame, and agents. College football just is more lively, running on rivalry, tradition and passion. These days, to get your football fix in the middle of the summer, you can drive over to Walmart and pay 60 dollars for an Xbox 360 game with graphics that are "Better than real life!!!" but this small SNES game sports only 16 teams, a tournament game mode, and about 25 plays. And I would take it over then Xbox game any day.
The graphics are SNES-y. They won't blow you away, but they do make the game clear and easy to play(ie you'll know which team is which) The passing is a little bit unrealistic but when I'm playing as Nebraska, I'm running the football every play anyway. Field goals and touchdowns have little animations, just like Tecmo Bowl. They don't show, however, players getting up and walking to their huddle, chubby fans in jerseys dancing, or refs making long, time-consuming calls as you would see in a 2011 football game. This is 32 bits of college football glory.
Hut, hut, hike. As you might expect from a football game, there are whistles, sounds of pads, a quarterback calling hike. But going back to the modern day football game, you won't hear the crowd or the announcer, or the tight end jeering, "All day, all day!" In some ways this lack of unnecessary noise is better is better, but it stinks you can't hear your team's fight song or chant. Without the background noise, the game seems strangely and unrealistically silent.
The game is really fun to play, no matter which way you slice it. Running the plays are great, and the way each team plays is different. One thing I like about this game is matching up common rivals to dual it out. It adds another element. I'm trying to put into words how fun this game is, but I can't. It just is great. It keeps everything balanced too. Playing defense is just as exciting as scoring a touchdown. My one complaint may be the rarity of turnovers. Interceptions hardly ever happen, and most fumbles only occur when I screw up the option. The top down endzone to end zone, left to right layout is a popular one, and this game is no exception.
This game would have a lot of depth if you tried to win the sixteen team tournament with each team available to you. My guess is you won't do that. Most of you will pick a favorite team and just play through games. This is as fun as could be, as each opponent is something different.
The games difficulty is sporadic. This was before the days of choosing how good your opponent is at blocking. I have played games where I'll win by 42 and then subsequently lose by 21. It has a lot of luck involved when it comes to breaking tackles and completing passes which can make the difference in the game. Pinning a difficulty on this game is a tough task, but I guess I'd give it a six
In the end, this is America and football is great. NCAA Football for Super NES is a simple game, and in many ways better than today's standards. I truly do enjoy this game, and have been playing a lot because football is starting up soon again! Go Huskers, and I'm sure everyone will find their favorite team to use.
Graphics
8 Sound
8 Addictive
10 Depth
7 Difficulty
6